Journey to Planar World

As Charlie stepped out of the tent, two figures were already waiting for him. Hermes, with his usual sly grin, and a much younger white-haired youth—Bell Cranel.

”Good day, Charlie-san! You… don’t look so good.” Bell greeted, then awkwardly corrected himself after noticing the dark circles under Charlie’s eyes and his pale, weary face.

”Morning, Bell. You look better than you did yesterday.” Charlie replied flatly, neither enthusiastic nor cold. His mind was still foggy, and his waist still throbbed.

”Enough small talk.” Hermes interrupted, clapping his hands once to draw attention. ”I want to take you both somewhere. Follow me.”

With a suddenly serious expression, he turned and began walking into the forest.

Charlie and Bell exchanged a brief glance before reluctantly following Hermes. They walked quite a distance, leaving the campsite behind until the sounds of activity faded almost entirely.

”Hermes-sama, where are we going?” Bell finally asked, curiosity overcoming his hesitation.

”…”

Charlie remained silent. His Six Eyes, modified to detect energy flows, sensed something ahead.

(This magic power… Though fluctuating, it’s equivalent to Level 5.)

Several Level 5 adventurers gathered in one place. Hermes’s true motives put him on guard.

”Hmm… This looks good.” Hermes muttered suddenly, stopping in front of a large tree as if appraising it.

With surprising agility for a god with sealed Arcanum, he began climbing, displaying a familiarity that suggested he’d done this before.

”Bell, Charlie, get up here!” Hermes called from a branch above.

”I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Charlie mumbled under his breath.

Even so, he and Bell climbed the tree, crawling along a thick branch hidden among dense foliage.

Charlie’s sharp Level 5 hearing picked up sounds in the distance.

”Hm?”

(Women’s voices…? They sound familiar… And the way they’re talking… Could it be?!)

A suspicion formed in his mind. Charlie had a good guess about the scene Hermes wanted to show them.

”Why are we here?” Bell grumbled, still confused.

”Shhh!” Hermes signaled for silence, then grinned widely before pointing below.

Below, at the edge of a clear lake, a group of women were bathing.

Tiona and Tione, the Amazoness sisters with exotic bronze skin glistening with water, their athletic yet feminine bodies on display.

Mikoto and Chigusa, with the slender, elegant proportions typical of Far Eastern women.

Lili, petite but beginning to show mature curves.

And the most striking was Hestia, her enormous, voluptuous breasts floating in the water like twin full moons, making her stand out far more than the others.

”…!!!”

Bell was instantly stunned, his mouth agape. Before he could shout, Hermes quickly covered the boy’s mouth.

”All those girls down there are bathing. It’s practically our duty to watch, right?” Hermes whispered with utterly warped logic.

”No! Obviously not! This is wrong, Hermes-sama!” Bell protested, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and guilt.

”Bell, peeking is part of a man’s romance. Look at Charlie—his calm reaction proves this is just something guys do.” Hermes said, trying to use Charlie as an example.

”???”

Hearing his name used to mislead Bell, Charlie’s eyebrow twitched.

(No way I’d let anyone but me see Ais’s naked body, even if it’s a god!) he thought fiercely.

Unbeknownst to Hermes and Bell, Charlie subtly moved his fingers.

*SHUA!*

He silently used his Spirit Art to create a mist around the area where Ais was bathing, slightly separated from the others, effectively obscuring her from anyone trying to peek.

Meanwhile, Hermes’s words inadvertently triggered Bell’s memory of his grandfather’s advice.

”This is wrong! Let’s go back, Hermes-sama! Charlie-san, please talk some sense into him too… Huh? Where’s Charlie-san?”

Bell turned to ask for help, only to be shocked to find Charlie’s spot empty.

Charlie had vanished without a sound, leaving Bell alone with the unscrupulous god.

”Such a shame. I thought Charlie and I were the same type of guy.” Hermes sighed in mock disappointment, still engrossed in the view below.

”Eh?!”

In a desperate attempt to pull Hermes away, Bell lost his balance. His hands grasped at the air, and with a muffled yelp, he fell from the branch, plummeting straight into the open water toward the bathing women.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

”How ridiculous. Peeking is such a low act.” Charlie muttered as he walked away from the lake, leaving the growing commotion behind.

To him, satisfying himself by merely looking without being able to act was pointless and embarrassing.

Moments later, shouts of embarrassment, anger, and uncontrollable chaos confirmed his suspicions.

”As I thought. Bell and Hermes must’ve been caught. Good thing I left early. I don’t want to be part of that embarrassing mess.”

Charlie glanced toward the source of the shouts, confirming that the peeking attempt had somehow been discovered by the women. Shaking his head, he couldn’t fathom the mentality of peepers.

”What’s the point of looking but not touching? Are they really satisfied just staring from afar like a starving person looking at gourmet food behind glass?”

His thoughts immediately drifted to Ais. For him, true satisfaction came from being able to touch, feel, and fulfill his desires—not just being a passive spectator.

”Whatever. No use trying to understand the mindset of perverts.”

*GRUUU!*

Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since last night’s dinner.

”Yawn… Oh yeah, I haven’t eaten.”

The hunger hit harder as he recalled how Ais’s aggressive stamina had utterly drained him.

Casually, Charlie found a comfortable spot under a large, shady tree. He sat cross-legged and raised his hand.

A small glimmer of light shone, and from his Space-Time Cache—a spatial storage device—a cup of instant noodles appeared, a famous brand from the Planar World: Gotoubun no Hanayome.

With a simple gesture, his Spirit Art heated the air’s water molecules, condensing them into a perfect stream of hot water that filled the noodle cup. The aroma of broth wafted up, making his stomach growl even louder.

Unconcerned about the noodles possibly getting soggy, Charlie devoured the instant noodles ravenously.

”Slurp… Slurp…!”

Each bite felt like a blessing to his exhausted body.

In the distance, the sounds of shouting and chasing between a panicked Bell and the furious women continued, but to Charlie, it was just white noise that didn’t disrupt his enjoyment of this simple yet deeply satisfying lunch.

While eating, Charlie used his Senrigan to check on Aishia and Est at the surface. The two spirit girls had been taken by Astraea to a restaurant for lunch.

”No need to rush back. I’ll return after watching the protagonist defeat the Black Goliath.”